Re: mycorrhizal fungi?

hi, libby,

here's the sum total of what i think i know about mycorrhizal fungus supplements.

one of the more respected tropical fruit gurus [i'm having a senior moment with his name but he holds the rank of professor at university of florida], who has a large demonstration garden and orchard in the miami-palm beach area, inoculated the entire garden and orchard with it a few years ago and swears by the results.

i have several packets of the stuff--samples from a would-be distributor--that i've never used. now that you remind me of it, however, and i have two trees i want to plant this weekend, i may try it out.


At 09:33 AM 5/8/03 -0400, you wrote:
Has anyone tried using a mycorrhizal fungus supplement?  I have one of those
rebate coupons from Gardens Alive, and though I have learned the hard way to
take their catalog claims with a pound of salt (moreso for their subsidiary
Audubon Workshop than for Gardens Alive itself; all you fans can stay calm
<grin>), this product intrigues me.  They call it "root boost", and say it
is a supplement of soil fungi that have symbiotic relationship with most
plants, and planting some soil fungi with the plant gives the plant a big
benefit.  Of course they have different formulas...

What got my attention in the catalog write-up is the thought that in most
developed areas these days the top soil, where most of these beneficial
fungi reside, has been stripped off, so this product really could make a big
difference.

I have a gaggle of perennials and shrubs to plant this year, and I'm
wondering if this would be a good idea.  Some are going in areas where I
have been working on improving the soil, some in new areas that are still
basically clay.  It won't quite be free but even with shipping it'll still
be under $15 and I could probably get it by next week.

Has anyone tried it?  Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Libby
Maryland zone 6

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